Lunacy
by Seniya
Summary: After Ash's uncle dies, he inherits his mansion, but once there he finds himself plagued not only by his illness but by a mysterious young girl. AshMay AU
1. Chapter 1

**Lunacy **

**By Seniya**

Chapter 1

The journey to the manor was ridden with discomfort, to be absolutely honest. It had taken a month by ship, followed by a week by a train and now, finally two days crowded in what had to have been the smallest carriage Ash had ever had the misfortune of traveling in.

His wife, seated across from him in her corseted satin gown, took great pains in reminding him, as often as she possibly could that this was nothing like their arrangements at home, when they were seated in velvet cushioned chairs, highly polished wooden furniture with the finest steeds bred on that side of the Atlantic.

But, as he had realized the moment he had stepped off the equally uncomfortable ship days ago, he wasn't at home. And those comforts weren't available to him any longer.

Though he hoped that they soon would be, that was the main reason he had left his estate in Scotland to come here. Tales of what greater riches awaited him if he were to depart tempted his conscience, and then, when his Uncle Kaiji had died, willing him his estate, it seemed only logical that he should set off.

Though, now, as the carriage thudded along another seemingly endless dirt road, he had to admit that it all seemed very unintelligent.

"Ask the coachman, how long until we arrive."

Misty broke through to his consciousness. They had been married for a little over a year. He remembered when they had first met very well. It was at a time when her flaming red hair had matched her energetic personality, when she had possessed such a strong allure that it had instantly captured his young heart.

Now it seemed that the confines of marriage had taken away that charismatic young girl, and replaced her with the bland, officious woman that facing him.

They had been married relatively young, he was now nineteen, his wife three years his senior.

Though, he sometimes felt that he was a great deal older than his age showed.

See, he had been diagnosed with a skin disease during his youth. It made going out into the sunlight exceedingly impossible, and forced him to spend the majority of his years locked into his bedroom, with his thick curtains constantly drawn, and only his imagination and the occasional nanny to keep him company.

He supposed that had been the reason he had taken to Misty so much, she had reminded him of what the great outdoors held, the great mystery that he had been unable to solve as a child.

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The coachman was a short, bald man whose feet barely touched the bottom of his chair. He responded in his raspy voice that the manor was only a mile away. He then offered them both some bread and wine, and although neither of them had eaten as much as a crumb for at least a day or so, declined.

"Listen to me sir; I trust you know of my husband's condition, we cannot leave this coach until after sunset."

"Yes, yes, we have heard all about the boy's difficulty…just like his uncle then isn't he?"

"My uncle suffered from this as well--did you know him?"

Misty stared at her husband disbelievingly. He had not spoken a word to all for the greater part of their journey; in fact, she had begun to think that he wasn't cognizant of her existence.

"No, my boy, none of us ever saw him, what with his condition and all that, but we heard his stories, yes, he was a kind of legend here in Georges"

"I have never met someone like me before…"

"And I don't suppose you ever will, he's _dead_ Ash, remember?" her voice was dry and brittle, in our time her tone might have been called a sarcastic one, but here, in 1876, fine ladies were not sarcastic, and Misty considered herself to be a fine, fine lady.

"And it's no wonder he died, no man can live like that, locked up in that empty old house all the time, drives one insane it does…"

Ash didn't respond to his communicator's dismal prediction. He was well aware of the shortcomings of this disease.

So very aware…

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They arrived, at a time that the coachman swore was on schedule, when the moon just beginning its habitual stroll across the night's sky.

"Oh, Ash…" she breathed, "It's gorgeous."

One could suppose that your outlook on the house would have to depend on your own personal tastes. For example, if you found aged, neglected, heartrending, dwellings attractive, then, by all means this one would suit your preferences to a tee.

But if you, like Ash preferred your surroundings to possess that sort of comfortable feeling, seeing as you spent almost every wake hour locked inside, then, right now, you would be out of luck.

"Will you need any help with your bags?" the man, who had just said his name was Taichi asked.

"No, no, there are servants to do that…"

"Afraid not miss, the workers aren't here at these times."

Ash's gaze left the ominous house to watch the interaction beside him.

"Why aren't they here?" asked Ash.

"It is because of the boy's uncle, he always sent them away after dark, always"

"That's absurd- there is more than enough space here for…"

"Why did he send them away?"

The squat man wrinkled his nose and shrugged his shoulders, "Never said, I suppose it was just because he liked to be alone."

"Well then, if there's nothing else, I'll be on my way, goodnight, sir— miss."

And then tipping his bowler hat, he mounted his coach, with surprising speed for someone so stunted. Finally he urged on the two mares accompanying him, and was then on his way.

Misty stared after them incredulously for a few moments, until the realization of all that had just transpired finally struck her.

"Wait!" she screamed, "What am I to do with my bags!"

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The house, if it were possible, looked even more haunting on the inside.

Even Misty noticed as she stopped her complaining for a moment to survey her new surroundings. Judging by her uncharacteristic silence, Ash knew that 'gorgeous' would not be on her list of descriptions for the interior.

Perhaps, it was due the lack of light in the place, Misty had suggested, since obviously, owing to the thick curtains; the house was deficient of such things.

It seemed that once, perhaps the house had held some sort of magnificence, but now that time had passed, and the only reminders of that period were the now filthy furniture.

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Misty had always thought herself to be a very resourceful woman. She had to be growing up in Scotland with her scandalous family. As you can possibly guess, immorality was not acceptable in Victorian society.

The lies she told to protect their reputation had most likely amounted into the thousands by now.

She felt no shame when speaking of her dishonesty however, what had to be done, had been done and there should be no disgrace because she was loyal. Or so she believed.

So yes she was resourceful, it was a trait she had perfected in order to survive in their world.

Her resourcefulness would now have to be put to use in a different manner, however, and it was through her resourcefulness, or she claimed, that they found their bedroom that evening.

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It was the largest darkest room in the house, at least from what she had seen. And at that moment it matched her mood. Her failing marriage, her dissolute family, and now an ugly house, life had truly dealt her an unfair hand of cards.

Her mood did not change later that evening after shooing Ash out of their chamber to disrobe when she realized she required a maid to aid her in the removal of her corset.

So we shouldn't be surprised that when Misty finally allowed her husband to return inside, she was feeling so disgruntled, that she didn't bother to utter a word to him for the rest of the night.

Luckily for her, he wouldn't have responded in any case.

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When Ash awoke the next day, he found that he wasn't alone. Misty was gone, _that_ he used to, and in her place was a darker, taller woman. From what he could see from the few stray light rays that had squeezed through the impenetrable wall of curtains, she was hunched over something, humming in a way that reminded him of his nanny back home.

"Hello." he muttered finally, startling the woman.

She spun around immediately; her black face broke into a friendly smile.

"Hello."

Her voice was much softer than he had expected; he found it almost musical.

"What time is it?"

"Late sir, near noon, the little miss, went into town this morning very early sir, said not to disturb you."

Ash nodded, as he had said, he was accustomed to her behavior, in Scotland he hardly ever saw her, he saw no reason for it to be any different in America.

"Will you be wanting breakfast now sir?"

"No…I am not very hungry"

"Now sir, you must eat-for your health."

There was a motherly tone in her voice, one that caused a cloak of nostalgia to cover him.

He shook his head again, his dark hair becoming even untidier as he did.

"Why are you that color?" he questioned finally, growing tired of just staring.

She laughed instead of taking offense "Born this way sir, just like you."

Ash smiled with her "Perhaps I will have breakfast now."

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He and the woman, who shortly after introduced herself as Ana, talked for a contented while, she answered all his questions, something he was not used to, and she answered him with an air of mystery that he found he quite enjoyed.

Later, after perhaps and hour or so, Ana said that she had to go seeing as there was still the rest of the house to polish. Ash had offered at first to join her, but she had refused his company suggesting that he should instead go explore the house for a bit.

She had whispered, in that standard mystifying tone that he had come to expect from her that this house contained many secrets.

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Ash had never been a curious boy, not by nature at least. He was curious when he grew bored, which happened now with increasing regularity.

He decided to take Ana's advice due to that fact that he nothing else to do, the majority of his belongings hadn't arrived yet, and without his books and games to keep him entertained he decided that he might as well find something else to do.

After all, Misty had.

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After his bath, he toured the house, seeing by light provided by his candle alone. He went from room to room, finding nothing that in particular that held his interest.

The rooms were all incredibly similar; each contained a parallel version of furnishings from the rooms before, which would in turn match the rooms after.

The only thing that he found thought provoking enough to stay and ponder for a while was a room filled with paintings. They were not the best works of art that he ever seen, they were not professional like the ones his father kept, but nevertheless they held his attention because of the subjects of each of them.

Well, more correctly, _the_ subject, for on the canvas of each of them was drawn a picture of the sun. A mixture of reds and yellows that caused him to stare at them with a longing beyond anything he recognized.

He stayed in that room for quite a while, until a pang of hunger in his stomach drove him away to the kitchen, but he reminded himself to return to this room later.

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The kitchen was on the first floor; he hadn't needed to ask directions to the place because the smells of the cooking lead him there.

He trotted into the space, just as he had done with all the other rooms only to race back out in a panic.

"What on earth are you trying to do!" he yelled to those on the inside.

"Why are you screaming?" came the response.

"Are you trying to kill me?"

A giggle followed, then, came a no.

"Then where are the curtains?"

"Oh, those, I took them down, rather boring in fact, I thought that they were too depressing."

Satoshi stared disbelievingly to the front of him.

"Haven't they told you?" his volume had yet to diminish.

"Told me…"

"I can't go into the sun-I shall die if I do, the curtains are for my safety!"

The owner of the voice, a young girl, joined him in the other room.

"How can you die?" there was a hint of amusement in her voice.

"The sunlight will kill me."

"I understand that—what I mean is how…"

"Well…well I am not sure but—"

"I've never heard of anyone not being able to go into the sun before."

"Well, now you have," he finished simply.

"Who told you that you couldn't?" the girl cocked her head to a side, her light brown hair hiding most of her features.

"Doctors," Ash stated, "many doctors."

"Oh."

The room fell into silence as the girl took in this new information.

"Well I think it's all very silly, God wouldn't have made a sun if it could hurt anyone."

Ash decided not to detail to the girl how unethical her last statement had been.

"Didn't you know my Uncle?"

"Yes I met him." she smiled revealing very white teeth.

"Well then how could you have not met anyone with this disease before—he had it as well, didn't you know?"

"I do remember him mentioning something about that…" her voice trailed off.

"Where is he now—we could all talk."

"My uncle is dead."

If the pervious words had caused a stir of anything in the girl's psyche, she kept it well hidden; instead she spoke in a softer version of her cheerful tone when she said;

"So he's there then."

"Where?"

"Where is what?"

"Where is he?"

She shook her head and smiled again.

"I shall replace the curtains if it makes you feel better, I am sorry that I took them down, but I love baking, and I find it so very hard to do so in the darkness of this house."

Satoshi nodded, on some level he understood what she meant.

"What are you baking?"

"Pies, I thought I might have a picnic outside later"

"What's your name?"

"May."

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Ash left after he saw that the kitchen had been plunged into darkness, he had quite forgotten his appetite, feeling instead very confused.

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It was long after sunset when Misty arrived. She returned with a broad smile on her face, something truly remarkable for her.

The smile vanished soon enough however, when she encountered Ash sitting in his nightshirt on their bed, playing with the dark colored bed sheets.

"And just why aren't you dressed yet?" she screamed.

"Dressed for what?"

"For _dinner,_" she had summoned two women into the bedroom with her; Ash noticed Ana wasn't one of them.

"I thought that the servants went home after dark."

"Oh, that silly rule, well I told some of them to stay awhile here with me, to help us get ready for dinner."

She had begun searching through several packages that he had only now noticed she had been carrying.

She held up a red dress while the two girls cooed about it.

"Must I go?"

"Yes, Ash, and stop being so childish—we are having dinner with the Mayor, he's welcoming us to town, did you forget?"

"You never told me."

"Well, never mind, wear your blue suit, it goes well with your eyes."

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Grumbling, Ash left the room to dress, he had been_ quite_ happy being alone in his room with his bed sheet.

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The Mayor was an old man, aged, as his mother would have said. But he possessed just as much charm as any youngster. Ash supposed that it was due to that same charm that he had come to get his job in the first place.

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Ash felt bored all throughout dinner.

He had worn his blue suit as Misty requested; only to regret it later, he had never felt so damned uncomfortable in his life.

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Now at dessert, he prodded the cake with his fork, yawning every now and then in the hope that Misty would notice and tell him to go to bed.

He had no such luck however; his wife was far too engrossed with enchanting their guest to pay any attention to him.

She was drunk, that was obvious, and so was her friend. This fact upset him even more, seeing as Misty hadn't allowed him to have any wine.

He yawned again, this time more obviously than before, but to no avail, now the older man was now talking of how he took care of the Manor after his Uncle had passed away.

"And I of course had to take in account all of the servants here, everyone, in fact I've memorized all their names." he said that with an air of pride.

"Do you know _all_ of their names?"

They both seemed quite shocked to see someone else at the table.

"Why, yes, yes my boy, I learnt all their names…there's Kaori, Sasha, Ana and Asuca who is a fantastic singer, mind you and…"

"Do you know of a May?" Ash was glad to finally be able to talk about the girl who had been plaguing his thoughts since that afternoon.

"May?"

"Yes, she seems very young, short sort of, brown hair, she was cooking when I last saw her."

"No, I can't say that I do remember boy, but I shall check into it for you."

"Why, do you want to know of this girl?"

"She took down the curtains," he said.

"Well that wasn't at all very nice" Misty giggled.

Ash sighed, no it wasn't.

**Author:** I know that this chapter was very prolonged to put in a word, but for good reason, I needed to explain a lot of things and well, hopefully I accomplished that. This is aAAMAYL fiction, once it gets off the ground; I have nothing against AAML, but god after 5 years of it I needed a change. The next chapter right now is only a twinkle in my eye, once I get a break from school I hope to get it down on paper. Please review with your comments.


	2. Chapter 2

**Lunacy**

**By Seniya**

Chapter Two

The peculiarity probably began about a week after they had first moved in.

It had all started innocently enough, with the mayor returning as he had promised with some information concerning Ash's last inquest to him.

He found the boy, locked up, in what had to have been the darkest room in the already gloomy house, staring miserably at some of the most incomprehensible paintings that he had ever come across.

The youth had seemed very aggravated when he found that his concentration had been broken. And he became even more annoyed when he saw who the culprit behind the act was.

"What do you want?" he had demanded.

Brock, for that was the mayor's name, was very astounded to see such rudeness coming from a man of such esteemed upbringing. But, remembering his own rearing he remained undisturbed as he stated his business.

"I came with the answer to your question—last week at dinner you asked me of a…"

His voice trailed away when he realized that his correspondent had shifted his attention back to the art.

He cleared his throat, and started again, overlooking the irritation that was now boiling in his chest.

"Yes, well I did some research and I found that there is no such person employed here." he took some encouragement from the fact that the boy was now staring at him again.

"Are you certain…but—she was here and…"

"Believe me sir, it is my intention to make sure that she never enters this property again...in fact, just this morning I hired two more watchmen, with your wife's permission of course…"

"But I…"

"You shall never have to see her again, I promise."

"But are you certain that she is not a worker here…well, perhaps she is one of the maids' daughters or, maybe a friend of the butler or cook…"

"No, I have spoken to the staff…they know of no May."

Ash, who had now realized that he, had jumped to his feet sometime during the conversation slowly sat back down of the floor.

"What's the matter son…was this girl a beauty of some sort that you are pouting over her in such a fashion—come, come now my boy, you have a lovely wife, a wonderful home and God's willing, soon some children…"

"No…you can't tell me that this girl doesn't exist—I've seen her."

"I'm not saying that you haven't, I'm just stating that no one else has, and we don't know who this girl is…she could be a murder…a lunatic…"

"She said she knew my uncle."

"Did she? So she's a liar as well."

"She's not."

"Isn't she? How could she have known your uncle, he never left this house—and from what I have heard from the others she has never been here."

"I—I just don't understand…"

"Just don't worry yourself anymore about her; she is none of your concern."

And after taking a last puzzled glance at the numerous paintings, he left.

Needless to say, Ash's mood did not improve by the end of the day when Misty returned from yet another one of her mysterious shopping trips.

And it wasn't as though she tried to remedy the situation.

Instead, she sat across from her husband at the dinner table, silently sipping her soup. She was at this moment thinking about how very pleasing it was that her husband could not see her thoughts, for you see he had possessed such an ability, this night he would find that his wife was having the most…_unladylike_ fantasies about a young gentleman she had met in town today.

And as usual for Misty, she felt no culpability about these thoughts. After all, why should she?

Certainly, it was true that she was a married woman, but, well, what _good_ was a marriage when her husband refused to touch her. Married for months now and they still had never been intimate.

Not only that, but he often seemed to forget that she was in the room with her. A shining example to that was right now.

So when should she fell anamed and horrid about her thoughts about that dashing man…when she had practically been driven into his arms by her husband.

No, no, she refused to feel guilty. If anyone should, it should be Ash.

Ash fell asleep that night for the first time in his own room. He had never slept alone before (as embarrassing as it sounded). For you see when he was younger, a Nanny was employed to stay with him during the night to make sure that he didn't awake and open the windows. That same Nanny had stayed with him, just until he was married, when he was expected to share a bed with Misty.

But tonight was different, Misty had demanded that he left their room this night, for what reason he did not know (nor did he particularly care). And so he had located some blankets and made his way down to the room filled with paintings and fashioned a small bed.

And there he slept that night, in the warmest, driest corner, underneath his favorite image.

When he awoke, he did so to a great surprise.

He was outside…in the fields…well, at least he thought that they could be fields, he had never actually seen fields for himself, but he had read of them.

He was in the open air…in the sun. Wait no.

The sun!

Immediately panic overcame him, instinctively he scampered away, clawing his way up a hill, which was covered in shade. He sat there for a while, heart pounding and breathing hard. Pressed up against the giant oak tree, he finally found the courage to look at his body.

Expecting scars or sores his bafflement only grew when he saw that his skin remained the same.

How could this be, usually if he only stared at the sun too hard he'd break out into hives, and now he had just spent his longest period ever in the daylight, and not a scratch?

_What kind of witchcraft is this?_

"Hello."

A voice startled him out of his thoughts. May. He knew it was she from the tone. She was standing over him wearing a white dress.

"What is this place?" He stood up to meet her eyes.

"I am not sure." she was smiling at him; in fact I think that it was within that moment that he realized just how pretty she was.

"Well then how did we get here?"

She shrugged her shoulders and sighed, "You ask so many questions."

"But, come on now—you must now something."

Her smile widened.

"I heard you screaming."

"What?"

"Were you afraid?"

"Answer me, tell me what you know."

"There is no reason to be afraid, I don't know where we are, but I have been here before, many times, I don't know how I get here or how I return back home, I just do…you see Ash I don't have the answers to your questions."

Ash wasn't awfully satisfied with her response, but he knew that he wouldn't get anything better from her so that vague speech would just have to do.

"Who are you then?"

She laughed, "My name is May—did you forget?"

"No, I mean _who_ are you, are you a maid—are you a cook?"

"Come with me, I want to show you something." she tugged at his arm; she was stronger than she looked.

"Why won't you ever answer my questions?"

"I don't have any answers, if I did, I would tell you"

"Do you at least know why I the sun isn't hurting me?"

She turned and stared at him, to his surprise; she reached out her hand and stroked his face.

Then, she whispered "Are you sure that it ever could?"

What she had been so excited for him for him to see turned out to be a clump of flowers. Sunflowers she had said that they were called.

Now, to us this sight would probably not evoke a care in our minds, but to a boy who had spent his entire life wondering about just such things, it was truly amazing.

"I've, never seen sunflowers before, well not like this…" as he spoke he bent down to get a closer look.

"They're beautiful aren't they, they're the only flowers that grow here; don't you think that it's such a peculiar place."

"It is."

He turned to look at his companion again, staring at her as she stared at him.

He would have stayed in that position if she had not suggested soon after that they have a race across the pasture.

He agreed, mainly because he had always been particularly fond of running, but had never truly been in a race before.

He had given her a head start, figuring that it was the gentlemanly thing to do, only to find that she hadn't needed it, being incredibly fast on her own.

She had beaten him, though not by much he would pant to her later.

She laughed and threw her head back, her dark, wind blown hair spilling down her back as she did so. She reminded Ash of a drunken old woman that had visited his old house once; Misty had invited her.

Finally she threw her arms around Ash's neck, surprising Ash with her boldness. He responded by patting her awkwardly on her back.

She smelt of flowers, not like the dried ones his mother would place in his room; but stronger, like the fresh ones he had just seen.

She released him a while later smiling just as much as ever.

"I like you." she said simply, she sounded as though she was challenging him.

He felt his face grow hot, "Well," he stammered, "I suppose I like you too."

Though he wasn't sure, in all honesty he found this girl to be a bother with her riddles and smiles.

But there _was_ something about her…

"Can I ask you one last question then?"

She frowned, but nodded anyway.

"How did you get into my house?"

"I walked."

Ash didn't remember waking up, much like he didn't remember going to sleep. That was if he had ever slept. The memory of the field was as strong as ever in his mind…he could still smell the flowers, he could even now still feel the sun beating down on his shoulders.

It had been so real, too real he decided, to be a dream.

But it couldn't be possible, there was no way, he knew that it could have been authentic. But yet…

He would just have to wait until he saw May again. He knew that she held the answers to his questions whether or not she chose to give them to him.

Throughout the day, his misery had once again returned. There was a pain in his neck, undoubtedly due to his sleep accommodations last night. He had search for May all day, walking from room to room, floor to floor, but all his efforts had proven fruitless. By lunch he sill had not found her.

He was very careful not to tell anyone about May or the fields he had been to last night. Although his heart ached to spread the secret, his mind knew better. He didn't want the Mayor or Misty finding out about this. They would consider him a madman.

No one in the house bothered him, not even Ana; who had brought him his lunch, smiling shyly and then hurried away before he could utter a word.

He didn't mind though, it was something he was used to.

"Hello."

"May," glancing up from his cake to see her better, his breath caught in his throat. She was wearing the same simple white dress as before, and her dark hair, though tidier now than he remembered it, was still tangled as it framed her face. She had looked the same way, as before but still, there was something—different about her now. There was something more attractive; somehow.

"I came to visit you, I heard that you had been looking for me," she took the seat from across him.

"Really, from whom…"

"From the wind." she stared at him with the same unfathomable expression as always.

"What?"

"May I have some cake?" she had already reached for it, Ash didn't stop her.

"It's very hard to have a conversation with you," he said while watching her eat.

"Why?"

"Because—you never make any sense."

"To you maybe."

"To everyone, and how exactly did you get in here, and don't say you walk—no one else ever sees you but me."

"Well, that's because you're the only one who looks."

Ash sighed after the response.

"Forget it," he started to trace a design with his fingers onto the silken tablecloth.

"I came to invite you to the fields again tonight,"

"Invite me?"

She nodded and pushed her empty plate away.

"But I don't know how to get there."

"I shall come for you, just sleep under the big painting again tonight."

Ash nodded, confused.

"I thought you said that you didn't know how to get to that place."

"What's that?"

"What…" he began but cut himself off when he heard it too.

"I have to go." and she scampered off into the other room, before he could protest.

"Ash?"

"Misty…why are you home so early?"

She didn't answer him right away, she was preoccupied at the moment, her eyes were searching the dark room for something—someone.

"To whom were you talking to just now?"

"To May."

"Who's that?"

"She's…" Ash couldn't answer his wife; he didn't know who May was. "She's my friend."

Misty twitched her nose like she often did when she was puzzled; she circled the sitting room, much like a hawk; searching for signs of this _friend_. "Where is she now?"

"She left." he answered simply, he wished Misty would leave, he didn't understand why, only that he didn't want her finding out the little he knew about May.

Misty peered into the adjoining room, and then sighed.

"I came home because there is nothing to do in town, such a small place, really there is no excitement here." she paused to pick up a plate from the edge of the dining table.

She then placed it in front of her husband.

"Ash, eat your cake, or you'll never grow any bigger."

**Notes**: Thank you, for all the kind reviews so far. I am sorry for taking so long to update, but school…ahhh. Well, I hope you enjoyed this addition, there is only one more chapter left and well there's a bit of naughty in it, so I'll have to raise to rating to 'R' next time. Just so you know.

About this story, yeah I saw the movie The Others, it's a fantastic film, but no my story is not based on it. My story is based on a little boy I saw on CNN, he was allergic to the sun, poor thing, and his problem touched my heart forcing me to write this.

I know that May's sentences are vague to say the least, but I needed her to be that way.


	3. Chapter 3

**Lunacy**

**By Seniya**

Chapter Three

Time had passed like it has that aggravating habit of doing. Soon the days had slipped into weeks and them; into months. All around Ash; his world was changing.

Misty had hired a group of French painters to "liven up" the old manor. The end result in Ash's opinion wasn't too lively; they had painted the entire house in white, and hung pictures of scantily clad women on the walls. Also; Ana had left, without giving any reason, one Sunday morning. His wife had implied to him in conversation that she knew why, but she did not divulge the information.

Finally Misty had finally decided that he could sleep next to her again. And a while before that, the mayor had suddenly stopped coming over.

But far more important than all of these occurrences to the story and of course to Ash; was the fact that something had remained unchanged; his precious visits with May.

For awhile after the cake incident, it had bothered him…the peculiarity of it all…but then that night May had spoken to him in a voice that had quelled the storm of questions in his mind and he had realized the truth. He had never been eating cake to begin with.

In fact, now he thought about it, he had always detested cake.

And of course a week later, when a maid had entered into a room where he and May had been conversing, and asked in a bewildered state who he was talking to…he knew it was because May had run off to hide, afraid of being seen by someone who would force her out of the manor.

The times when the wet footsteps vanished, the times where the shadows and scents disappeared, yes they all had logical conclusions behind them.

Of course he had never told anyone else about May, turned off, obviously by the fact that they always pretended that they couldn't see her.

It was a cold morning as Ash remembered it, but then again, it was always cold in this house, the lack of open windows didn't help for cheerfulness.

He had heard, or rather he had overheard: the lady of the manor was pregnant. The news was particularly confusing to him seeing as he and the lady had never made love. Suddenly the mystery of why Misty had allowed him into her chambers became very clear.

He didn't ask Misty about the rumor, in any case it didn't matter; Misty had an uncanny way of twisting about his words to suit herself.

It was late that night when Ash finally saw his wife.

She lay sprawled out on her bed, the silken red locks sprayed out behind her. She smiled at him, with her lips, though her eyes told him another tale.

She beckoned him closer, those garnet lips parted oh so seductively.

He refused to move, a last pathetic attempt to maintain his manhood. Misty for her part seemed not to recognize his defiance.

"Husband, we have been wed for months now, and yet you refuse to touch me, know this a woman has needs, just as you do…" when she spoke, she did in a very business like manner, her gaze lingering on his trousers at the very end.

Ash swallowed; already he could feel his resistance to her wavering. He never could deny her…

"I suppose then you will just have to find someone else to please you…" he wanted to add that he knew of her adultery, but found that his throat wouldn't allow him.

"Never," she purred. "Come to me, Ash we need an heir."

"An heir, I would hate that any child of mine should have this accursed disease." his response was harsh, and he let it linger in the air for a moment, before he decided to leave.

"Ash," Misty called. "Please, I love you, I hate it that you scorn me this way…I'm your wife, please."

She was incredibly near to him, now he could feel the heat from her body. Her hand reached forward to meet his.

"Misty…I…"

His stomach fluttered and his mind wailed.

"You…"

Ash could only stare as the woman in front of him changed. The red hair was gone, replaced by brown tangles. Those ice blue eyes, the ones that held so many secrets now were greener, warmer.

"How did you…"

The smell of her drugged his mind; it all became so lucid to him, the fields, and the sunsets. Her lips claimed his in one swift movement.

His need for her had never been so great…

His tongue found hers and they began their erotic dance. His fingers knitted in her hair, luring a gasp from his lover.

A desperate trembling seized his body, a painful ache it was, unlike anything he had ever known before. He knew then, that only she could cure it.

Painfully slowly linens were discarded, and finally in a moment of purest delight, she stood before him, in all her innocence. She was perfect.

It was just as he had pictured her, every freckle was in place, every curve.

With a moan he claimed her again.

His mouth explored every unadulterated inch of her. Marking it his; her gasps and sighs only urging him on.

At last when he could withhold it no longer, he entered her, slowly carefully, trying to prolong the sensation for the both of them.

Instinct was all that lead him, that and the urgency to quell the ache in his chest and the newest one in his groin.

With each thrust he knew he was going, somewhere, taking May there as well, someplace new, someplace that he didn't want to leave.

Pulling her trembling body closer to his; he whispered one thing into her ear.

"I love you."

And then it was over, they had passed over the plateau, and soon all that was left as proof of the past moments were the rumpled sheets.

He removed himself from her warmth, enjoying the sounds of her labored breathing.

And then, she was gone.

In her place lay Misty, smiling smugly at him. "Ash…"

"Where is she?"

"Where is who?"

"She was just right here."

Questions flooded his mind. But then a single haunting thought came to block them, she had never been there.

"Ash what are you…"

"Nothing."

He rejoined his wife in their bed, noticing how his body stiffened at her touch.

He didn't see May for days afterwards. He had long chased away the thought of her not being there with him that night, foolishness, he had concluded, after all, he had touched her, kissed her…he had loved her. She was real, he knew that much.

She only returned to him after he had received a letter from his mother, where she had spoken terribly of her failing health.

She comforted him, in a soothing voice, and then kissed his tears away.

Then she took him to the fields.

The sun was particularly hot on that day. So much so that he and May couldn't do much running; instead they chose to sit under the shade of an oak tree.

They talked for a while, about stories they had heard; until the thought that Ash had been confining in his mind for weeks now revealed itself.

"I…have to stay here…with you—I need to be with you, please, you must tell me how." usually Ash would have been ashamed at how pathetic his voice sounded, but not now.

May looked at him, with her distinctive impassive gaze. She stroked his face with her ice cold hands, and then muttered in a voice so small that he wasn't even sure he had heard it at all…

"You already know how."

Yes, _yes_, he knew now what he had to do…he had known all along. He'd been a fool not to have tried it before. It was all so clear now…so obvious.

He laughed with the delight of his revelation. Finally, he was going to escape this place.

Had inside this room always been so gloomy, so crowded? He could feel the fingers of the darkness as it tried to hold onto him, but he tugged his arms away.

"You won't keep me here!" he screamed, but it only laughed in reply.

He was running now, towards her, the glow of the sunlight illuminated her frame, the sunflowers waved enticingly behind her; the remainders of his tattered shirt streamed behind him as he ran.

The darkness chased him as he went. "Come back Master!" it screamed.

But he had already reached his destination. He laughed at the joy of it all. Free at last!

May ran towards him, and he knotted his fingers in the locks of her brown hair and drew her closer. Nothing before had _ever_ tasted so sweet…

He heard her scream before he hit the ground. May's smile instantly turned into a look of horror. And then, she disappeared.

He tried to call after her, but found that he couldn't. There was something stopping him, it had started as a throbbing in the back of his mind, but then grown into a sharp pang, sharper than anything he had ever felt before.

It forced the field around him to vanish and so reveal itself for what it really was.

Misty was above him now, her features were blurred by the tears streaming down his face.

His skin, once porcelain and perfect; was now spoilt by the thousands of protuberances that swelled and burst on his skin.

A constriction had dislodged itself from his throat allowing him to release his pain through his screams.

Even the sun, soulless as it was, paused in its midday journey to stare in amazement at the boy who was below writhing from the pain that it had caused him.

Misty was crying as well now; her lips were moving, she was telling him something…what, he did not know. She held him, hugging him to her chest, her pleas lost in the sobs.

He wished he could calm her, to tell her that it was alright, that he was fine, that he couldn't even feel the pain anymore. But he couldn't, and besides, words seemed so unimportant now, everything did.

Misty's sobs faded away into nothing, and the scenery around her followed.

He found himself, once again, alone, accompanied only by his familiar friend, the darkness. Though, even now, as he found himself being drawn unexplainably towards the never nearing light, he found himself thinking…

Funny, I don't remember this happening in my dreams.

_It's amazing what the human mind can allow itself to believe. _


	4. Chapter 4

**Lunacy**

**By Seniya**

The sun had faded into the night. His soul had faded into the dark abyss that calls to all souls once their bodies have rejected them. Misty had cried; more out of pity for her own loneliness that out of genuine sadness.

The funeral had come the next day, for as the wife had put it, "she couldn't bear to have that dead…thing near her for much longer."

There had been now viewing of the body, the mortician took one look at him and with a large frown decided that his features had become too misshapen. Misty ad chosen a large black coffin, and he was buried early in the morning, underneath a massive Pear tree with her, the Mayor, the servants and the sun as the only witnesses.

By the next week Misty had moved, she had always hated the house, and their much smaller property back home seemed to be a far more pleasing location, and also, the lure of an (mostly) unblemished reputation called to her as well.

This child would have the life that she always craved.

……………

And so the rooms of the Manor stood empty, save for the shadows that huddled together for warmth, the darkness that made its own comfort, far away from the reaches of the suns rays.

If you dared to ask these shadows, merely ask them about what they thought of the past few months, then perhaps, if your manner was pleasing, the would explain to you the story of a boy and a girl, finally free to run together in the land of dreams.

A land free of pain and suffering; where the only thing to fear was the thought of losing each other. It was here, in these dreams that love was born, it was here that hatred was vanquished, in this land where the sun was a merciful master, rather than a despicable enemy.

It was here, in the arms of this girl, that Ash finally found…himself.

But of course, that was only if you asked the shadows. Because in truth, this land is a secret…

A strange secret, because somewhere, deep inside of our heart of hearts we all know of its existence. It is merely our mind…our bodies that keep us away.

……………

**THE END**

Author: This is for MMT, the story was actually finished, but I'll do an epilogue to clear things up.

Ash died. Misty moved. Mae is some sort of ghost, and they're together now in heaven.

Happy Holidays, that's it. I also fixed the punctuation in the first few chapters.

Thanks for the support.


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